


Color and Light

by CrackheadMossMan



Series: HLVRAI Mermaid AU [3]
Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Crushes, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, young grandpas meeting!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25215274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrackheadMossMan/pseuds/CrackheadMossMan
Summary: Bubby goes hunting for isopods a distance away from his school, only to see something he's never seen anything like before and makes him feel something completely new.
Relationships: Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life)
Series: HLVRAI Mermaid AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815016
Comments: 12
Kudos: 263





	Color and Light

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck it, wholesome and shitty boomer oneshot

The young viperfish siren had wandered a distance from their school, eyes scanning the dark landscape of the twilight zone in the sea. They weren’t allowed this high up, and even the viperfish had to admit, it _did_ make them feel a little weird, but they didn’t care. It made hunting more exciting, unlike hunting with their school and the leviathan. Besides, they had a special spot. It was decently far from the school’s territory, which meant that it’s where he could get away from the strict school. A grin spread across the viperfish’s face, jagged and sharp teeth poking out from his lips, when he saw the many giant isopods crawling around the abandoned and absolutely wrecked ship that had become almost completely submerged in the sand. That was why he really loved this place: there was _always_ food. The many circular lights running along his tail pulsed with a beautiful glow as he flicked his tail and started to slowly swim and stalk the isopods.

He used the technique he learned as a small guppy: He stayed close to the ground, stomach barely grazing the soft sand that was speckled with rocks and small amounts of kelp, using his claws to pull himself closer to his prey, while keeping his tail down low. It didn’t take a lot of time to get that perfect amount of distance from the prey, and the viperfish got into a much more comfortable pose, but one that would still make it easy to lunge and quickly grab at the little suckers. Now it was time for a light show. The viperfish adjusted his tail to where all the lights on his tail were on full display, and got ready to start flashing the lights. 

**“HYAH!”**

_— CRACK —_

Any focus on the flashing lights immediately vanished due to the piercing loud battle cry. The lights on the tail flashed maybe once or twice quickly, before flickering off as the siren jumped and started to frantically scan the area with his eyes to see what made the sound. He thought he was alone, but that sound proved him wrong. Finding nothing, he quickly swam to the abandoned ship, using it as a handy hiding place. He slipped in with little to no effort, having been in the ship many _many_ times before. Many bubbles slipped through the viperfish’s gills as he let out a breath of relief. 

The inside of the ship was cozy, with moss coating the rotting wood in certain areas, and a soft layer of sand covering the floor of the ship. It was a relaxing spot. But not in the moment, since the siren was currently hiding from whatever cried out. The anxious eyes of the viperfish were hidden behind thick glasses he had actually found in this same shipwreck. The lights on the tail flickered back on as the viperfish calmed down, but it was still a very dim light. He eventually spotted a small hole in the ship’s side: a broken piece of rotted wood that had an opening that was the perfect size for a peek outside. The viperfish could feel curiosity bubble inside of him, and it didn’t long enough for the curiosity to become too much as the siren swam to the opening, squinting as he looked out. 

_Just one look… to make sure it’s safe._

Looking out the opening, he could see the usual: sand, some kelp, rocks, and isopods. He looked around a little more, before freezing up at something he had never seen before. It was another siren, with a muscular yet chubby upper body, brown hair, a small mustache, thick arms, and… another pair of arms, that did not look like a siren’s in the slightest; they looked more clubs. But the viperfish couldn’t hell but gawk at the bottom half of the siren. It looked like a shrimp, but there was something about it

The _colors_. They were so striking, so beautiful, greens, blues, reds, every color on this siren stood out and looked so eye-catching and beautiful. They were so different. They are so different from the viperfish’s dark gray scales. And they had no fins. He felt a warmth in his cheeks and a fluttery feeling in his stomach as he continued to stare at the siren. Every part of him was beautiful… he couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to be held in both pairs of arms… to lay against their shoulder. Completely forgetting about the fear they felt before, he turned around and swam towards where they had entered the ship. They quickly slithered out, and didn’t hesitate to quickly start to look around to catch the beautiful siren they had spotted moments before. He wanted a closer look at them. It didn’t take long to spot the gorgeous colors standing out from the murky dark water, and the viperfish paused for a moment, taking in the siren’s beauty. He couldn’t believe it, he’d never seen any siren like that, nor colors like that. It was enchanting to look at. The fluttery feeling in the stomach and the burning in his cheeks only seemed to grow as the viperfish stared from a distance, not making any move to swim closer to the colorful siren. The lights on his tail flashed for a moment then went dark once the head of the siren turned to him. 

_Fuck. Fucking — fuck._

The mantis shrimp glanced at the source of whatever light he could vaguely see in the corner of his eyes. There wasn’t supposed to be much light down here, he knew that. He didn’t expect to see another siren, hovering above the sand with their tail twisted up in a knot as it slowly swayed and sweeped the sand it was above. The human half of the siren was... interesting. They had short gray hair, large beige fins on the sides of their face, and… something covering up their eyes. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was. Moving on, they were a little skinny, and the mantis shrimp couldn’t help but wonder how they could hunt like that. Granted, they had claws. He moved onto observing the tail and… he couldn’t look away from it. Dark gray scales, with some and some fluid and enchanting looking fins, and then there was the _light._ He’d never seen such a beautiful light come from such a cute looking siren. There were many small lights dotted along the siren’s tail, and it was so enamoring to look at. It was nice to see some form of light among the infinite darkness that was this deep in the ocean. 

Oh shit- long had he been staring?

The mantis shrimp felt his cheeks start to burn as he got embarrassed, and quickly decided to swim off. _Fuck-_ He thought he was alone. And while it was good to see a (hopefully) friendly face, he had been staring at them for god knows how long. It had also been… quite a long while since the mantis shrimp has even seen a siren again. He picked up the now-dead isopod he killed with his mantis arms, and swam off, feeling the burning increase with embarrassment, leaving the stranger alone. 

Despite one of them “swimming off” it didn’t stop the two sirens from meeting again only fifteen minutes later, when they were trying to hunt. The viperfish noticed the bright eye catching colors of the other siren, and tried their best to ignore it. The mantis shrimp could barely tear his eyes away from the viperfish as he flashed the beautiful lights on his tail on and off. Usually, the mantis shrimp could get a kill from the isopods in less than a second, but he kept missing and only punched up the sand since he couldn’t bare to tear his eyes away from the lights. While normally, the viperfish could get a kill in seconds, using his mesmerizing lights to lure in prey, but he couldn’t focus on the lights long enough or lunge quick enough without getting distracted by the beautiful colors shining in his peripheral vision.

It didn’t take long at all before the two were left exhausted, now sitting in the sand panting like they had just run a marathon. The viperfish could barely see the mantis shrimp from the corner of his eye, and couldn’t tell if he was more embarrassed or exhausted. His tail was curled around him, webbed claws digging into the sand as he tried to catch his breath, his gills flaring up and down as he tried to filter the water, with his tail lights following his heavy breathing pattern. The focus from his breathing was torn away when he heard laughter. Surprised, he turned his head and found… the other siren. Their warm bubbly laugh was just as lovely— if not more— than their colors, and Bubby couldn’t force down the warm and fluttery feelings bubbling back up as his stomach twisted into knots.

“Pardon me for my laughter,” they started, and oh god— oh fucking god — they were _talking_ to him. “It seems as if we’re both struggling with focus, hm?” They looked over at the viperfish, their beautiful yet strange looking reddish and green eyes burning a heart into him. They had such a friendly smile, and if the viperfish wasn’t so surprised he was certain he’d be melting at that adorable soft smile.

Still trying to catch his breath, the viperfish couldn’t do much but nod in agreement. The knots in his stomach only twisted tighter as the other siren beamed, and started to swim _closer_ to him. His face felt like it was burning, but he couldn’t bring himself to swim away. The siren sat next to him, mantis arms and the shrimp half gently settling into the sand, and his human arms setting crossed on top of his mantis arms— _and god what the viperfish would give to be held by both pairs_. 

“I love your lights,” the siren blurted out suddenly, that smile only growing and an amazed look in his eyes. “Apologies— it’s just that… I’ve never seen anything like it before!” He happily clapped, and— _oh fuck you, I should be the one to talk about how amazing YOUR stuff is you bitch—_

“Oh! My photophores! They are pretty nice aren’t they!” The viperfish said without thinking, finally able to catch their breath. They grinned, showing off all their sharp teeth, and then flickered the photophores running along their tail, along with holding up the tail a little so the siren could see. The viperfish could’ve sworn he saw natural light in those amazing eyes as they looked at the lights like they were the cure to some fucking chronic disease.

“But I… I fucking love your colors. They’re— they’re _very_ beautiful. You look like every color I wish I could see in the shallows,” the viperfish struggled to mumble out, watching as the shrimp siren giggled a little. 

“Thank you. They aren’t the most helpful for hiding but I do have _these_ guns!” He cackled, and moved his mantis shrimp arms a little. The viperfish looked a little confused, before the other siren seemed to realize. 

“Oh! Here’s a better demonstration,” They laughed, and the viperfish watched as nothing seemed to send a shit ton of sand fucking flying— holy shit that was so fast. Their jaw dropped, and their cheeks continued to burn with blush as the mantis shrimp laughed. 

“...so what’s your name?” The viperfish only managed to say after picking his jaw off the floor, and really hoped the glasses he found were hiding the majority of the blush somehow. 

“It’s Harold Coomer, but I typically just go by Coomer!” The si— no— Coomer happily hummed, smiling that knot twisting smile that the viperfish never wanted to tear his eyes from.

“...Bubby,” Bubby cackled, pushing his glasses up his nose. He was… really enjoying not being alone for once. 

“Bubby! That’s a lovely name,” Coomer chuckled, before looking away from Bubby and at the isopods scuttling in front of the ship. Bubby grinned again at the compliment, and the two started to fall into a soft silence. It quickly got awkward though, and Bubby didn’t want the good memories with Coomer to end here so he quickly cut the silence.

“Where’s your school?” Bubby asked, glancing towards the mantis shrimp, watching as the smile on the other fell to… more of a frown. Coomer looked down, before turning back to Bubby. 

“I’m… I’m by myself,” Coomer forced a chuckle. “I’ve… never really had a school. I barely even remember anything before being alone.” Bubby frowned, now feeling extremely bad for the poor siren. He couldn’t _imagine_ losing his school, even if they could be ridiculously strict at times. Bubby hovered his hand over the mantis shrimp’s shoulder, before hesitantly and gently squeezing it. Coomer looked towards Bubby.

“...that must fucking suck-“ Bubby blurted out, not the best at comforting people. Thankfully, Coomer burst out laughing at that, and god Bubby loved that laugh more than he loved himself. A relieved smile found its way on the viperfish’s face as he watched his new friend laugh. 

“...I have a school. They’re extremely fucking strict at times, but… they’re a school. We have two leviathans, another one like me, a few squids and an oarfish, I think they’d like you,” Bubby said, trying to smile as he struggled to continue the “comfort”. It was never his strong suit. 

“I’d like that,” Coomer said softly once their laughter died out. That sweet smile that made Bubby feel so many things crawled it’s way back into his face.

“Oh hell yeah!” Bubby cheered, slapping the mantis shrimp on the back who laughed again. 

“Thank you, Bubby,” they added, leaning against the viperfish’s shoulder, which froze the excited siren and caused all lights on their body to immediately brighten and flicker. The viperfish couldn’t help but wrap their tail gently around the mantis shrimp, who didn’t seem to object to it. 

“...No problem,” Bubby mumbled, getting another quick look at Coomer’s enchanting colors, before looking out at the ship and the isopods scuttling around. 

Yeah.

This was a really special spot now. 


End file.
